Zurich Arrival
 

Hello,
I will be arriving in Zurich on Sunday Sept. 2 and staying for two days before I head to Italy. I have a logistical question, what is the best way to get from the airport to downtown, I am staying at a place called Hotel Montana. Also, anything that I need to do while in Zurich for only 2 days?

Hi cire3! My sister and I are arriving in Zurich the day before you are and staying at the same hotel! :) IMO, the best way to get to downtown Zurich is by taking the train that you can get on at the airport. It's about a 10 minute journey. You should be able to find your way to the trains at the airport very easily. As for things to do in Zurich, someone posted this link just recently: http://www.outandabout.ch/

In the Zurich train station there is a tourist office. We bought tickets for the trolley tour. Gives you a quick overview of the city, then you can pick/chose to see whatever interests you. ((b))

Thanks for the info everybody. Sounds like the train is the best option.
trafaelwyr- have you been to this hotel or Zurich before? Where are you traveling from?

hi cire3 - I've never been to this hotel before. I did a lot of research in terms of pricing and location and this hotel seemed to be the ideal place. Previously my nephew and I had stayed at the Ibis Zurich City West in Technopark, but at the time I felt that this was a bit further out from the center of Zurich than I wanted to be. Mind you, I thought the hotel was nice and clean, just not close to enough to all the attractions (but was closer to where my cousins lived). My sister and I are travelling from Dallas/Ft. Worth via Newark.

One of the reason for why I chose the hotel that I did is because we'll be going to Germany on the Monday, so wanted somewhere that was close enough to the train station so that we wouldn't feel rushed. Where are you travelling from to Zurich?

trafaelwyr, The hotel sounds nice, central to everything. My wife and I are traveling to Zurich from Buffalo, NY and then heading to Italy for two weeks. I am very much looking forward to the train ride through the alps. It is the first time for both of us in Europe. Most of our planning thus far has been for Italy, I am just now starting to plan for Zurich.

One more question, I don't speak German or French all that well. A little German, but not much. Will I be ok in Zurich as long as I make the effort to speak the langauge? Or should I just not insult them and speak english?

You won't have any problem with speaking English in Zurich. The Swiss are excellent in language and esp in Zurich. Just the basic Gouss Gott and Danke will be fine.

"Gouss Gott." I think you mean Gruss Gott. This is Austrian. The Swiss say "Gruezi."

cire3 - You'll really enjoy your train ride! The scenery in Switzerland is amazing. As yk mentioned, you won't have any language problem in Zurich if you speak English, but attempting to speak German or asking the person in German if they speak English is also good as well. I remember back in 1996 when I went to Zurich and a friend of mine here in the States had asked me to buy this Anne Rice book (in German). I went to the bookstore and proceeded to ask the shopkeep in German if he had the book. Instead of responding back to me in German, he spoke English to me. Guess it wasn't hard for me to sort out that German wasn't my native language!

heya schuler - I'd never heard the greeting of "Gruezi" used before until 2005, but I like it. :) I've always used the greeting of "Guten Tag" or just "Tag". I read your report about going to Lausanne for that Migros sponsored Stones show. Ah, I like Migros! I loaded up there with some stuff before I came back home, especially this breading that's used for Wiener Schnitzel.